Sep 23 Est 1-5
The King
Dethrones Queen Vashti
1 Now it
came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus[a] (this was the
Ahasuerus who reigned over one hundred and twenty-seven provinces, from India
to Ethiopia), 2 in those
days when King Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom, which was in
Shushan[b] the
citadel, 3 that in
the third year of his reign he made a feast for all his officials and
servants—the powers of Persia and Media, the nobles, and the princes of the
provinces being before him— 4 when he showed the riches
of his glorious kingdom and the splendor of his excellent majesty for many
days, one hundred and eighty days in all.
5 And when
these days were completed, the king made a feast lasting seven days for all the
people who were present in Shushan the citadel, from great to small, in the
court of the garden of the king’s palace. 6 There
were white and blue linen curtains fastened with
cords of fine linen and purple on silver rods and marble pillars; and
the couches were of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement
of alabaster, turquoise, and white and black marble. 7 And they served drinks in
golden vessels, each vessel being different from the other, with royal wine in
abundance, according to the generosity of the king. 8 In accordance with the law,
the drinking was not compulsory; for so the king had ordered all the officers
of his household, that they should do according to each man’s pleasure.
9 Queen
Vashti also made a feast for the women in the royal palace
which belonged to King Ahasuerus.
10 On the seventh
day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman,
Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, seven eunuchs who served
in the presence of King Ahasuerus, 11 to bring Queen Vashti
before the king, wearing her royal crown, in order to show her
beauty to the people and the officials, for she was beautiful
to behold. 12 But Queen
Vashti refused to come at the king’s command brought by his eunuchs;
therefore the king was furious, and his anger burned within him.
13 Then the
king said to the wise men who understood the times (for this was the
king’s manner toward all who knew law and justice, 14 those closest to him being Carshena,
Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven princes of
Persia and Media, who had access to the king’s presence, and who
ranked highest in the kingdom): 15 “What shall we do
to Queen Vashti, according to law, because she did not obey the command of King
Ahasuerus brought to her by the eunuchs?”
16 And
Memucan answered before the king and the princes: “Queen Vashti has not only
wronged the king, but also all the princes, and all the people who are in
all the provinces of King Ahasuerus. 17 For the queen’s behavior
will become known to all women, so that they will despise their husbands in
their eyes, when they report, ‘King Ahasuerus commanded Queen Vashti to be
brought in before him, but she did not come.’ 18 This very day the noble ladies
of Persia and Media will say to all the king’s officials that they have heard
of the behavior of the queen. Thus there will be excessive
contempt and wrath. 19 If it pleases the king, let
a royal decree go out from him, and let it be recorded in the laws of the
Persians and the Medes, so that it will not be altered, that Vashti shall come
no more before King Ahasuerus; and let the king give her royal position to
another who is better than she. 20 When the king’s decree
which he will make is proclaimed throughout all his empire (for it is great),
all wives will honor their husbands, both great and small.”
21 And the
reply pleased the king and the princes, and the king did according to the word
of Memucan. 22 Then he
sent letters to all the king’s provinces, to each province in its own script,
and to every people in their own language, that each man should be master in
his own house, and speak in the language of his own people.
Esther
Becomes Queen
2 After
these things, when the wrath of King Ahasuerus subsided, he remembered Vashti,
what she had done, and what had been decreed against her. 2 Then the king’s servants
who attended him said: “Let beautiful young virgins be sought for the
king; 3 and let
the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, that they may
gather all the beautiful young virgins to Shushan the citadel, into the women’s
quarters, under the custody of Hegai[c] the
king’s eunuch, custodian of the women. And let beauty preparations be
given them. 4 Then let the young woman
who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti.”
This thing pleased the king, and he did so.
5 In
Shushan the citadel there was a certain Jew whose name was Mordecai
the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite. 6 Kish[d] had
been carried away from Jerusalem with the captives who had been captured with
Jeconiah[e] king
of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away. 7 And Mordecai had
brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle’s daughter,
for she had neither father nor mother. The young woman was lovely
and beautiful. When her father and mother died, Mordecai took her as his own
daughter.
8 So it
was, when the king’s command and decree were heard, and when many young women
were gathered at Shushan the citadel, under the custody of
Hegai, that Esther also was taken to the king’s palace, into the care of Hegai
the custodian of the women. 9 Now the young woman pleased
him, and she obtained his favor; so he readily gave beauty preparations to her,
besides her allowance. Then seven choice maidservants were provided for her
from the king’s palace, and he moved her and her maidservants to the best place in
the house of the women.
10 Esther
had not revealed her people or family, for Mordecai had charged her not to
reveal it. 11 And every day Mordecai
paced in front of the court of the women’s quarters, to learn of Esther’s
welfare and what was happening to her.
12 Each
young woman’s turn came to go in to King Ahasuerus after she had completed twelve
months’ preparation, according to the regulations for the women, for thus were
the days of their preparation apportioned: six months with oil of myrrh, and
six months with perfumes and preparations for beautifying women. 13 Thus prepared, each young
woman went to the king, and she was given whatever she desired to take with her
from the women’s quarters to the king’s palace. 14 In the evening she went,
and in the morning she returned to the second house of the women, to the
custody of Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch who kept the concubines. She would not
go in to the king again unless the king delighted in her and called for her by
name.
15 Now when
the turn came for Esther the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had
taken her as his daughter, to go in to the king, she requested nothing but what
Hegai the king’s eunuch, the custodian of the women, advised. And Esther
obtained favor in the sight of all who saw her. 16 So Esther was taken to King
Ahasuerus, into his royal palace, in the tenth month, which is the
month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign. 17 The king loved Esther more
than all the other women, and she obtained grace and favor in
his sight more than all the virgins; so he set the royal crown upon her head
and made her queen instead of Vashti. 18 Then the king made a great
feast, the Feast of Esther, for all his officials and servants; and he
proclaimed a holiday in the provinces and gave gifts according to the
generosity of a king.
Mordecai
Discovers a Plot
19 When
virgins were gathered together a second time, Mordecai sat within the king’s
gate. 20 Now Esther
had not revealed her family and her people, just as Mordecai had charged her,
for Esther obeyed the command of Mordecai as when she was brought up by him.
21 In those
days, while Mordecai sat within the king’s gate, two of the king’s eunuchs,
Bigthan and Teresh, doorkeepers, became furious and sought to lay hands on King
Ahasuerus. 22 So the
matter became known to Mordecai, who told Queen Esther, and Esther informed the
king in Mordecai’s name. 23 And when an inquiry was
made into the matter, it was confirmed, and both were hanged on a gallows; and
it was written in the book of the chronicles in the presence of the king.
Haman’s
Conspiracy Against the Jews
3 After
these things King Ahasuerus promoted Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite,
and advanced him and set his seat above all the princes who were with
him. 2 And all
the king’s servants who were within the king’s gate bowed and
paid homage to Haman, for so the king had commanded concerning him. But
Mordecai would not bow or pay homage. 3 Then the king’s servants
who were within the king’s gate said to Mordecai, “Why do you
transgress the king’s command?” 4 Now it happened, when they
spoke to him daily and he would not listen to them, that they told it to
Haman, to see whether Mordecai’s words would stand; for Mordecai had
told them that he was a Jew. 5 When Haman saw that
Mordecai did not bow or pay him homage, Haman was filled with wrath. 6 But he disdained to lay
hands on Mordecai alone, for they had told him of the people of Mordecai.
Instead, Haman sought to destroy all the Jews who were throughout
the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus—the people of Mordecai.
7 In the
first month, which is the month of Nisan, in the twelfth year of King
Ahasuerus, they cast Pur (that is, the lot), before Haman to
determine the day and the month,[f] until it fell
on the twelfth month,[g] which is the
month of Adar.
8 Then
Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered and
dispersed among the people in all the provinces of your kingdom; their
laws are different from all other people’s,
and they do not keep the king’s laws. Therefore it is not
fitting for the king to let them remain. 9 If it pleases the king,
let a decree be written that they be destroyed, and I will pay
ten thousand talents of silver into the hands of those who do the work, to
bring it into the king’s treasuries.”
10 So the
king took his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman, the son of
Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews. 11 And the king said to Haman,
“The money and the people are given to you, to do with them as
seems good to you.”
12 Then the
king’s scribes were called on the thirteenth day of the first month, and a
decree was written according to all that Haman commanded—to the king’s
satraps, to the governors who were over each province, to the
officials of all people, to every province according to its script, and to
every people in their language. In the name of King Ahasuerus it was written,
and sealed with the king’s signet ring. 13 And the letters were sent
by couriers into all the king’s provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to
annihilate all the Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one
day, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the
month of Adar, and to plunder their possessions.[h] 14 A copy of the document was
to be issued as law in every province, being published for all people, that
they should be ready for that day. 15 The couriers went out,
hastened by the king’s command; and the decree was proclaimed in Shushan the
citadel. So the king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Shushan was
perplexed.
Esther
Agrees to Help the Jews
4 When
Mordecai learned all that had happened, he tore his clothes and put on
sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the midst of the city. He cried out with
a loud and bitter cry. 2 He went as far as the front
of the king’s gate, for no one might enter the king’s gate
clothed with sackcloth. 3 And in every province where
the king’s command and decree arrived, there was great
mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping, and wailing; and many lay in
sackcloth and ashes.
4 So
Esther’s maids and eunuchs came and told her, and the queen was deeply
distressed. Then she sent garments to clothe Mordecai and take his sackcloth
away from him, but he would not accept them. 5 Then Esther called Hathach, one of
the king’s eunuchs whom he had appointed to attend her, and she gave him a
command concerning Mordecai, to learn what and why this was. 6 So Hathach went out to
Mordecai in the city square that was in front of the king’s
gate. 7 And
Mordecai told him all that had happened to him, and the sum of money that Haman
had promised to pay into the king’s treasuries to destroy the Jews. 8 He also gave him a copy of
the written decree for their destruction, which was given at Shushan, that he
might show it to Esther and explain it to her, and that he might command her to
go in to the king to make supplication to him and plead before him for her
people. 9 So
Hathach returned and told Esther the words of Mordecai.
10 Then
Esther spoke to Hathach, and gave him a command for Mordecai: 11 “All the king’s servants
and the people of the king’s provinces know that any man or woman who goes into
the inner court to the king, who has not been called, he has but
one law: put all to death, except the one to whom the king
holds out the golden scepter, that he may live. Yet I myself have not been
called to go in to the king these thirty days.” 12 So they told Mordecai
Esther’s words.
13 And
Mordecai told them to answer Esther: “Do not think in your
heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other
Jews. 14 For if
you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise
for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish.
Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a
time as this?”
15 Then
Esther told them to reply to Mordecai: 16 “Go, gather all the Jews
who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three
days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the
king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!”
Esther’s
Banquet
5 Now it
happened on the third day that Esther put on her royal robes and
stood in the inner court of the king’s palace, across from the king’s house,
while the king sat on his royal throne in the royal house, facing the entrance
of the house.[j] 2 So it was, when the king
saw Queen Esther standing in the court, that she found favor
in his sight, and the king held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in
his hand. Then Esther went near and touched the top of the scepter.
3 And the
king said to her, “What do you wish, Queen Esther? What is your
request? It shall be given to you—up to half the kingdom!”
4 So Esther
answered, “If it pleases the king, let the king and Haman come today to the
banquet that I have prepared for him.”
5 Then the
king said, “Bring Haman quickly, that he may do as Esther has said.” So the
king and Haman went to the banquet that Esther had prepared.
6 At the
banquet of wine the king said to Esther, “What is your
petition? It shall be granted you. What is your request, up to
half the kingdom? It shall be done!”
7 Then
Esther answered and said, “My petition and request is this: 8 If I have found favor in
the sight of the king, and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and
fulfill my request, then let the king and Haman come to the banquet which I
will prepare for them, and tomorrow I will do as the king has said.”
Haman’s
Plot Against Mordecai
9 So Haman
went out that day joyful and with a glad heart; but when Haman saw Mordecai in
the king’s gate, and that he did not stand or tremble before him, he was filled
with indignation against Mordecai. 10 Nevertheless Haman
restrained himself and went home, and he sent and called for his friends and
his wife Zeresh. 11 Then
Haman told them of his great riches, the multitude of his children, everything
in which the king had promoted him, and how he had advanced him above the
officials and servants of the king.
12 Moreover
Haman said, “Besides, Queen Esther invited no one but me to come in with the
king to the banquet that she prepared; and tomorrow I am again invited by her,
along with the king. 13 Yet all this avails me
nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate.”
14 Then his
wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, “Let a gallows be made, fifty
cubits high, and in the morning suggest to the king that Mordecai be hanged on
it; then go merrily with the king to the banquet.”
And the thing pleased Haman; so he had the gallows made.
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